This invention relates to football jerseys, and, more particularly, to a football jersey which is provided with specially tailored sleeves which fit snugly about the arms with any excess material.
Many football players, particularly linemen, want to wear their jerseys as tightly as possible to minimize the opportunity for an opponent to hold onto the jersey. The main portion of the jersey can be worn tightly about the player simply by using a smaller jersey size and by forming a portion of the jersey from elastic or expandable material.
The biggest problem occurs in the sleeve area. The football lineman wears shoulder pads which are substantially bigger than the shoulder pads which are worn by players in other positions. The sleeve area must be big enough to fit over the shoulder pads, but the sleeve should fit tightly around the arm below, the shoulder pad so that excess, loose material is not present.
Many players and equipment managers have gone to the trouble of "custom tailoring" their jerseys by taping excess sleeve material under the arms or by cutting away some of the sleeve material and then stitching or taping the sleeve after the jersey is donned.
The foregoing "custom tailoring" not only requires a considerable period of time before each game, but tailoring the jerseys can cause the jerseys to lose their uniform look. For example, colored stripes or logos are often worn on the sleeves of team jerseys, and the stripes or logos can be stretched, distorted, or obscured by the tailoring.